History of the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Introduced in 1994, the Lange 1 is the most recognizable watch ever created by A. Lange & Söhne, the symbol of the Saxon brand. The asymmetric dial and the patented outsize date won acclaim by watch enthusiasts, experts, collectors making the Lange 1 an instant classic. After two decades it remains virtually unchanged since its introduction. Very few watches could gain an iconic status in such a short time frame. But what is the path that brought to the idealization & development of the Lange 1?The origins of the Saxon manufacturer date back to 1845, when Ferdinand A. Lange, an extraordinarily talented Dresden watchmaker, established his own company and started creating superior pocket-watches highly coveted among collectors all over the world. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, the enterprise was expropriated during the Soviet occupation in 1948 and the name of A. Lange & Söhne was almost forgotten.Luckily, Ferdinand A. Lange’s great-grandson Walter Lange had the courage to relaunch the brand and in 1990, after the reunification of Germany, founded Lange Uhren GmbH on 7 December 1990 in Glashütte, and registered the A. Lange & Söhne brand worldwide, the first step to bring the Lange watchmaking tradition back to life.Together with his business partner and friend, Günter Blümlein, at the time the managing director of IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, he was ready to take up the interrupted task of his forebears making good use of a precious asset: his great-grandfather's journey book which included lot of technical drawings and insights.Lange and Blümlein shared the goal to put Germany back on the map of the luxury timepiece segment with a bold opus characterized by a distinctive design but in line with the A. Lange & Sohne tradition. In order to make a successful return, it was essential to present to the world something truly unique and special, a timepiece that could surprise and receive unanimous support from watch experts. The big question was: what would a modern watch from A. Lange & Söhne look like, if the brand had not ceased to exist after the Second World War?For the creation of the signature watch of A. Lange and Sohne, they thought to give it a strong and unique identity by adopting an outsize date indication which was inspired to the Five-Minute Clock of the Semper Opera House in Dresden, a revolutionary clock with digital indication dating back to 1841. Positioned just above the stage, the Five-Minute Clock was built on request of the King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony in order to allow everyone at the opera house to read clearly the time without disturbing the musical performance by activating minute repetitions. The ground-breaking design was the work of the Dresden clock maker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, genius apprentice-master and mentor to Ferdinand A. Lange. Together they created one of the world’s first digital clocks.Since there was very little space available above the proscenium arch and a round dial would not have provided the required legibility in the large and dark auditorium, the two watchmakers decided to create a structure without precedent, involving two